1. Our Federal Court System
The Judicial Branch
Our Federal Court System
“Laws are a dead letter without courts to expound and define their true meaning and operation.”
– Alexander Hamilton

2. Establishing the Court System
The Articles of Confederation
No national court
No national judiciary
This created problems:
The laws of the United States were interpreted and applied as each State saw fit, and sometimes not at all
Disputes between two states were decided, if at all, in one of the two states involved, however . . .
Often these decisions were ignored by the courts in other states.

3. A Dual Court System
We have two separate court systems in the United States
National court system (more than 100 courts)
State court system (more than 1000 courts)
Most cases are heard in state, not federal, courts

4. The Two Types of Federal Courts
The Supreme Court
Inferior Courts
The Constitutional Courts
Federal courts that Congress has formed under Article III to exercise “the judicial power of the United States”
The Special Courts
Created by Congress to hear cases arising out of some of the expressed powers given to Congress in Article I

5. The Constitutional Courts
12 U.S. Courts of Appeals
94 District Courts
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
U.S. Court of International Trade

6. The Special Courts U.S. Court of Federal Claims Territorial Courts
U.S. Tax Court
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces
U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
Courts of the District of Columbia
Washington D.C.

7. Can you name any of the Supreme Court justices?
The only court specifically created by the Constitution
Article III, Section I
Made up of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight associate judges
Supreme Court Justices are appointed for life or until they retire
They are appointed by the President
Can you name any of the Supreme Court justices?

8. John G. Roberts, Jr.
17th Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court
Attended:
Harvard
Harvard Law School
Conservative
Nominated by President George W. Bush
Took his seat September 29, 2005, after the death of former Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist.

9. John Paul Stevens Associate Justice Attended: University of Chicago
Northwestern University’s School of Law
Liberal
Nominated by President Gerald Ford
Took his seat December 19, 1975

10. Antonin Scalia Associate Justice Attended: Conservative
Georgetown University
University of Fribourg (Switzerland)
Harvard Law School
Conservative
Nominated by President Ronald Reagan
Took his seat September 26, 1986

11. Anthony M. Kennedy Associate Justice Attended: Swing voter
Stanford University
The London School of Economics
Harvard Law School
Swing voter
Nominated by President Ronald Reagan
Took his seat on February 18, 1988

12. Clarence Thomas Associate Justice Attended: Conservative
Conception Seminary
The Holy Cross College
Yale Law School
Conservative
Nominated by George H.W. Bush
Took his seat on October 23, 1991

13. Ruth Bader Ginsburg Associate Justice Attended: Liberal
Cornell University
Harvard Law School
Columbia Law School
Liberal
Nominated by President Bill Clinton
Took her seat on August 10, 1993

14. Stephen G. Breyer Associate Justice Attended: Liberal
Stanford University
The Magdalen College (Oxford)
Harvard Law School
Liberal
Nominated by President Bill Clinton
Took his seat on August 3, 1994

15. Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr.
One of the newest members of the Supreme Court
Appointed after the retirement of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor
Associate Justice
Conservative
Nominated by George W. Bush
Took his seat on January 31, 2006

16. Sonia Sotomayor Associate Justice Attended: Liberal
Princeton University
Yale Law School
Liberal
First Latina justice; third female justice
Nominated by Barack Obama
Replaced David Souter in August of 2009

17. Judicial Review
Definition: the power of a court to determine the constitutionality of a government action
Most courts in this country both federal and state may exercise this critically important power, however . . .
The ultimate exercise of that power rests with the Supreme Court of the United States

18. Supreme Court Jurisdiction
The Supreme Court has both original and appellate jurisdiction, most cases come to the Supreme Court through:
Appellate Jurisdiction
This means that they arrived there after going through the appeals process
These cases have already been through the highest state courts and the lower federal courts
There are, on average, some 8,000 cases that reach the Supreme Court through the appeals process each year

19. Supreme Court Jurisdiction
Original Jurisdiction
The Supreme Court can hear two classes of cases:
Those to which a State is a party
Those affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls
Congress cannot enlarge on this constitutional grant of original jurisdiction, however . . .
Congress was able to create a constitutional provision granting the Supreme Court to also have exclusive jurisdiction over:
All controversies involving two or more states
All cases brought against ambassadors or other public ministers, but not consuls.

20. How Cases Reach the Court
There are two ways in which cases reach the Supreme Court
By the writ of certiorari (Latin)
Means “to be made more certain”
This writ is an order by the Supreme Court for a lower court to send up the record in a given case for its review
Either party in a case can petition the Court to issue a writ, but cert is only granted in a limited number of cases – usually only when an important Constitutional question arises.
By certificate
This is much less common, cases which arrived on certificate arrive because a lower court is not clear about the procedure or the rule of law that should apply in a case.

21. How the Court Operates Briefs Oral Arguments
Briefs are written documents filed with the Court before oral arguments begin
These detailed statements support one side of a case, presenting arguments built largely on relevant facts and the citation of previous cases
Oral Arguments
When the Supreme Court accepts a case, it sets a date for the case to be heard
Typically they consider cases in two week cycles
They hear oral arguments for weeks, then recess for two weeks to consider those cases

22. The Court in Conference
The Justices meet in conference twice a week on Wednesdays and Fridays; here, they consider in secrecy the oral arguments they’ve heard
The Chief Justice presides over the conference, he speaks first on each case and usually indicates how he intends to vote
He is followed by the Associate Justices who speak in order based on seniority (how long they’ve served)
Once each Justice has issued their initial opinion, they debate

23. Issuing Opinions
About a third of the Supreme Court’s decisions are unanimous, most find the Court divided.
Opinions
Majority Opinion
Concurring Opinion
Dissenting Opinions
Precedence
The written opinions of the Court are extremely valuable, the majority opinion stands as precedence; that is, as an example to be followed in similar cases should they arise in lower courts.

24. Opinions Majority Opinion Concurring Opinion Dissenting Opinion
Officially called the Opinion of the Court, it announces the Court’s decision in a case and sets out the reasoning on which it is based.
Concurring Opinion
Often one or more of the justices who agree with the Court’s decision may write a concurring opinion, this is usually done to add or emphasize a point that was not made in the majority opinion.
Dissenting Opinion
Often written by those justices who do not agree with the Court’s majority decision; on rare occasions, the Court does reverse itself the minority opinion of today could become the Court’s majority position in the future.
Knowing this, why is it considered such a big deal when a seat opens up and the President has the opportunity to fill it?